Set 57 · Study 1 / 5

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cut someone down to size

idiom/kʌt ˈsʌmwʌn daʊn tu saɪz/

to humble or criticize someone to make them feel less important

She needed to be cut down to size after acting so arrogant.

word origin — From the 1800s — used the metaphor of physically cutting an oversized object back to its proper smaller dimensions.